Is technology helping the business grow, or holding it back?

What the 18 questions cover

• Strategy

  Is there a written technology plan covering the next 12 to 24 months? Is the technology budget set annually rather than approved purchase by purchase? Does a director own technology decisions and review them at management meetings?

• Operations

  Are repetitive tasks such as invoicing, approvals and onboarding automated? Are IT requests and faults logged and tracked to resolution? Is there an up-to-date register of devices, software licences and renewals?

• Cloud

  Do core systems run on cloud or hosted platforms rather than a server in the office? Can systems handle a busy period without slowing down or manual intervention? Is cloud spending reviewed monthly against a budget?

• Data

  Can managers get current sales, cash and operations figures without asking someone to prepare them? Are decisions regularly made from dashboards or reports rather than estimates? Are there rules on who owns, corrects and can access each type of data?

• Security

  Is there a risk register that includes technology and cyber risks? Do you know which laws and client requirements apply to your data and systems? Are security controls tested by someone independent of the people who run them?

• People

  Are staff confident using the systems they have been given? Is there a training plan for digital and security skills? When new systems are introduced, is there a plan for adoption, not only installation?